Café CLIMB is a non-profit restaurant and catering social entreprise business staffed by local youth ages 18 to 26 years. We are a Starbucks, "We Proudly Serve" site. The program was created to provide a career path for at-risk youth by engaging them in professional culinary training and job placement.
Our successes in addressing the needs of these important members of our youth community are reflected in our federally-funded YouthBuild program. This program provides selected local youth with the opportunity to build education and work skills in the area of construction and attain their General Education Development (GED) and employability skills. Since the inception of this program, we have enjoyed a 92% graduation rate.
The Café’s CLIMB‘s 7-month program of education and operations training will give selected youth the tools they require to prepare them for work for one of the Gulf Coast’s major employers—the ever-growing food preparation and service industry. Café CLIMB will achieve these outcomes by requiring participants to undergo and successfully completing an in-classroom training program under the instruction of local culinary arts and food service professionals, including Chef Jeffrey Bates, former Executive Chef of the 4-star Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood, MS. Participants will also receive on-the-job training in all aspects of food service and restaurant operations at our public café.
An additional component of the program offers continuing education including literacy and business math improvement courses to enable program participants to attain their GED certificate.
Upon completion of Café CLIMB‘s rigorous training, participants will have the opportunity to work full-time or part-time in the Café CLIMB restaurant and catering business or seek other opportunities at local food service operations.
Café CLIMB is located in an historic building in downtown Gulfport that was renovated to accomodate the program’s operations and public café. Future plans call for the renovation of the remaining 23,000 square feet of the building as a Workforce Training Institue that will house YouthBuild, computer installation training, catering services, administrative offices and a public space for banquets and musical performances.
The program is funded through grants provided by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, BP, Mississippi Power, Coast Coca Cola, and AT&T. Café CLIMB is also a member of Catalyst Kitchens, a national network of social enterprise organizations focused on providing culinary workforce training, food service to the public, and community food projects.